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 | | The Morning Show
 The Rams clicked on all cylinders against the Vikings and may again be the NFC front-runners.
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The Morning Show
Mort looks at the future of Troy Aikman and his place in history.
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The Morning Show
Will Daniel Snyder ever learn his lesson? Mort on the 'Skins.
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The Morning Show
Mort analyzes the Raiders' 31-7 win over the Jets.
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The Morning Show
Mort on McNabb, Brooks and the QB class of '99.
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The Morning Show
Mort looks at Denver's O-line.
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Dan Patrick Show
Chris Mortensen and Dan Patrick debate who is this year's NFL MVP.
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Dan Patrick Show
Will Chris Palmer be back in Cleveland next year? Mort responds.
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The Morning Show
Mort anticipates the off-season NFL coaching carousel.
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MVP
ESPN's Chris Mortensen has Donovan McNabb on his short list for MVP picks.
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Hissy fit
Daniel Snyder didn't take the Dallas loss very well, Mort says.
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Week 15: Rams graceful under pressure
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|  | | Indianapolis Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke, front, is congratulated by Jason Belser after Bills QB Rob Johnson was sacked. |
Colts 44, Bills 20: This was so unlike the Colts that have had us
scratching our heads this year. Peyton Manning and the offense appeared
almost dysfunctional a good portion of the first half. The invisible defense
could be seen making plays all over the RCA Dome, producing two TDs. The most
notable defensive score was Mustafah Muhammad on a 40-yard interception
return. Muhammad was starting for the $4 million cornerback, Tyrone Poole,
who was exiled deep on the depth charts for his disappointing production. But
how about the Colts' pass rush, which sacked Bills QBs Rob Johnson and Doug
Flutie nine times? Nice of them to finally show up (they had six sacks in the
previous five games). Actually, this was a disaster for Johnson, whom I have
defended as the Bills' QB. True, the Colts put the heat on him, but he showed
an incredible lack of instinct and appeared to play in a fog. Bills coach
Wade Phillips should have pulled the plug on Johnson at halftime. The Bills
obviously missed injured LT John Fina. They also showed that big is not
always better. Many of their overweight linemen on both sides of the ball
were ineffective. Maybe they can start one of those New Year's diets. They
can get an early start because their playoff hopes are dead. Otherwise, Bills
defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell did a great job with his decimated unit
against Manning and Co. The Colts now have two more regular-season "Super
Bowl" games left -- against the Dolphins and Vikings.
Raiders 31, Jets 7: When Raiders coach Jon Gruden gathered his players in
the victorious locker room after their playoff-clinching triumph, he was
interrupted by veteran receiver Tim Brown, who presented Gruden with a game
ball. Gruden had his team ready for an unlikely domination of the Jets by
physically controlling both sides of the ball. As good as the Raiders are, it
will take more inspired games from disappointing DT Darrell Russell to make a
real Super Bowl run. But at least they're in the tournament. The Jets
somehow have to recover from this embarrassment, having blown an opportunity
to assume the lead in the AFC East on a day the Dolphins lost. The Jets get
the Lions and Ravens to finish the year. Their is no room for another
disaster like this one in Oakland.
Rams 40, Vikings 29: This should serve as a warning to all Vikings fans. Next Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers (in Minnesota) is a must-win. Why? If this loss against the Rams proved anything, the Vikings will need home-field advantage to build a legitimate case as a Super Bowl contender. They have lost three of their last four games on the road (to the Bucs, Packers and Rams). Lose to the Packers next Sunday, and they finish on the road in Indianapolis. Under that scenario, the Vikings might kiss bye-bye to home-field advantage to the New York Giants. Their inexperienced secondary needs a home crowd to generate enough noise to give their pass rush a little edge. Now, this was at least temporary validation for the Rams. Lose this game, and the Rams were done for the year. Their playmakers, particularly Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk, were back in MVP form. Rams coach Mike Martz committed to running the ball, Faulk delivered with 130 yards and four TDs, and Warner was uncanny again with his accuracy. Now the Rams can really prove their Super Bowl mettle by winning out on the road against the Bucs and Saints -- no small order. But if they do, we'll see the Rams as the team to beat again, won't we?
Bucs 16, Dolphins 13: Truthfully, the reason I gave the Dolphins the nod on my weekly picks (which are going south in a hurry) is that Jay Fiedler has been a much better quarterback than Shaun King. Not Sunday. Fiedler will remember this game as his worst day of the season. He separated his left shoulder. He obviously struggled in the rain. He couldn't drill his throws, which is a must because the Dolphins receivers get no separation from defenders. He threw four picks, including one for the Bucs' only TD and one at the end to kill any chance at a tie or victory. He fumbled a snap, leading to the decisive field goal by Martin Gramatica, who had himself a pretty good game despite one miss. Give offensive coordinator Les Steckel the nod for an effective game plan that found a way to get Warrick Dunn the ball. King may have only thrown for 147 yards, but most of them were pretty big, especially in the south Florida downpour. Defensively, this was a home run for the Bucs with their four interceptions. So now we have seen the Bucs beat the Vikings and Dolphins since Oct. 29. They are alive. Very much alive, with the Rams on deck in next week's Monday night matchup in Tampa.
Cowboys 32, Redskins 13: Memo to Dan Snyder: Sometimes you get what you ask for. I'm sorry, but there is some poetic justice in this result. Snyder truly believed that a change of coaches and a change of quarterbacks would be an inspired stroke of genius. Well, his best chance to win down the stretch still would have been with Norv Turner (regardless of Turner's prior defeat to Dallas). It was evident that Terry Robiskie fell into a trap early in the game, trying to establish Jeff George as a savior. Even worse, it appears Robiskie was trying to satisfy Snyder's desire to be more "wide open" as he went to five-receiver sets. Bad idea for this game. The Cowboys were 31st against the rush and a good dose of Stephen Davis should have been the strategy. Instead, the depleted Cowboys got early confidence, sacked George five times and watched Emmitt Smith run for 150 yards for a stunning win. See, the Redskins have real problems on offense because of personnel. Turner was trying to masquerade the holes of having no center, no guards, no receivers, a banged-up quarterback and an injured runner. And how about losers like Albert Connell trying to accuse Turner of being too conservative? That's wonderful, Albert Connell second-guessing the offensive strategy of an outstanding offensive coach like Turner. Oh, I can just imagine what was going through Snyder's mind ("Darn, I knew I should have named Pepper Rodgers the coach"). Oh, kudos to Cowboys coach Dave Campo for having his team ready to play, and to Smith for his sustained run for the Hall of Fame and Walter Payton's record.
|  | | In his second game back, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner completed 27 of 32 for 346 yards. |
Giants 30, Steelers 10: Jim Fassel's spin for this game was to make it like a "road game" because the Giants had lost their previous two games at home while winning two straight on the road. He changed their Saturday routine and even had the courage to suspend wide receiver/kick returner Ron Dixon for being tardy to a meeting the day before the game. Kerry Collins also is making Fassel look like a genius. He was nearly flawless and drilled some big throws, especially to Amani Toomer (nine catches, 136 yards, one TD). Don't forget, Collins has taken a team to an NFC title game before in his sophomore season in Carolina. Are the Giants growing into the team to beat in the NFC? Maybe, but probably not. Remember, their last three wins (vs. the Cardinals, Redskins and Steelers) came against teams with sub-par receivers. Their secondary still has question marks, although safety Shaun Williams is making a late Pro Bowl bid. The Steelers now can make plans for Christmas.
Saints 31, 49ers 27: Packers GM Ron Wolf, who traded Aaron Brooks to New Orleans, told me he believed Brooks would be a "great quarterback if he'd let his hair down" by using his athletic ability more to make plays. On a day Brooks struggled with his passing game, his athleticism clinched a winning season for the Saints with 108 yards rushing and a bunch of Houdini plays to overcome another strong game by 49ers QB Jeff Garcia. Terrific win for the Saints. They were battered, they were down, they were on the road. Somehow, they won. Credit Saints offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy (a name you better start to remember) for getting Brooks back on track after a tough three quarters. The 49ers' defense, which had made a lot of progress the past month, could not overcome their own youth in the fourth quarter, but it really fell victim to Brooks' escapism. The Saints finish their road season with an amazing 7-1 mark and now retreat home to finish the year against the Falcons and Rams. Should be interesting.
Ravens 24, Chargers 3: For awhile there, Trent Dilfer looked like the old Trent Dilfer, which is reason to keep anybody from being overconfident in Baltimore. But Dilfer regained his composure, made enough plays, and the Ravens are in the playoffs for the first time since they landed in Baltimore. The Ravens' defense had some fun with Ryan Leaf. The real treat of this game was watching two great linebackers, the Ravens' Ray Lewis and the Chargers' Junior Seau, show how the game is played.
Eagles 35, Browns 24: That's Donovan McNabb seeking a little elbow room for a Pro Bowl bid among Kurt Warner, Daunte Culpepper and Jeff Garcia. His 390 yards passing and four TDs probably had some measure of personal vengeance for the Browns, who eliminated McNabb and Culpepper from their No. 1 pick derby in '99. How about Andy Reid winning 10 games with this team? Now they get a bye. No, it's two byes before the playoffs (the Eagles play the Bengals after their Week 16 off-week). The Browns at least showed signs of respectability. Whether it's enough to save Chris Palmer's job remains to be seen.
Broncos 31, Seahawks 24: Maybe the Broncos should thank Corey Dillon and the Cincinnati Bengals. Ever since Dillon's record-setting game on Oct. 22 when the Bengals upset the Broncos, Mike Shanahan's whip-cracking has resulted in six straight wins. Mike Anderson's 130 yards rushing continues to push Baltimore's Jamal Lewis for the Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Jon Kitna did not make Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren smile.
Packers 26, Lions 13: Packers GM Ron Wolf has taken some heat from the local media in the past year, but you watch -- his trade with ex-coach Mike Holmgren for RB Ahman Green will be recognized as a great steal. Green, not Brett Favre, was the star of this show as the Packers (7-7) kept their razor-thin playoff hopes alive. The Lions have that look again of a fallen contender.
Jaguars 44, Cardinals 10: Fred Taylor is healthy. Fred Taylor is good. Fred Taylor would have had the Jaguars in the playoffs had he been healthy and good when the season started. The Cardinals are not healthy. The Cardinals are not good. I have a very bad feeling for Dave McGinnis.
Titans 35, Bengals 3: Wasn't Steve McNair very iffy for this game? The joke was on the Bengals as McNair got a much-needed dose of success through the air. How about Yancey Thigpen and Carl Pickens showing up for some big catches? Eddie George was Eddie George. Now the Titans are in pretty good position to secure home-field advantage again.
Chiefs 15, Panthers 14: You know, that had to be a tough thing for Panthers kicker Joe Nedney to miss a 47-yard field goal that could have won a big road game. But Nedney has been so brilliant this year, it's hard to fault him, even if he is a kicker. The Chiefs were down 14-3 but rallied and may have saved Gunther Cunningham's job.
Bears 24, Patriots 17: Tell the truth -- you had never really heard of James Allen before this year, huh? Allen went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the Bears, who were committed to the running game, so much that QB Shane Matthews was effective enough to keep Cade McNown sidelined another week (I'm presuming). The Patriots at least are putting themselves in good draft position to get a running back next April.
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